


happiness is in the pockets

by fondghost



Series: questions about peter parker [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (rip im not funny), Attempt at Humor, Gen, MENTION OF:, Panic Attacks, Therapy, not too bad tho dw, sadder than anticipated at parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 23:03:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15035258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fondghost/pseuds/fondghost
Summary: Peter just wants people to be happy, that's why his pockets have May's keys, Ned's wallet, and MJ's gum. Oh and he started carrying a lighter to piss off Mr. Stark.(an answer to the important question: On an average day, what can be found in Peter's pockets?)





	happiness is in the pockets

**Author's Note:**

> I found this post with a bunch of 'questions about your character' (that i cannot find rn sorry) and when I was being a Very Good Student and missing class, I answered all the questions ... about peter, & i wrote 13 outlines & sorta have 3 fics fully written sooo yeah
> 
> p.s. i suck at editing my own work so let me know if it's a Mess & i'll fix it!
> 
> Enjoy?

### On an average day, what can be found in his pockets?

* * *

 

 

At first, for a good couple of years, the people Peter saw on a regular basis were a small group; May, Ned, MJ, Mr. Stark, Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey.

 

Sure, the last four didn’t really become _regular_ -regular until after Toomes, but they count now.

 

He might be a bit upset at the small number of people around him, if they weren’t all so freakin’ awesome they made up for ten people each!

 

Point is, for a couple of years, he was almost always with one (or more) of the seven [awesome] people. And Peter - well Peter really likes making sure the people around him are happy; so he started doing little things for them.

 

He wore jeans (and pants) with pockets, everyone did - but his pockets were always empty; he hated the feeling of something in them, and he’d be anxious all day thinking it was going to fall out, and he was going to lose whatever it was. Plus, he never really had anything that was necessary to carry in his pockets. So, he just contented with carrying his stuff in his backpack instead. Until, that is, he started hanging out with the Awesome Seven™.

 

****

 

_May_

 

May was always in a rush somewhere, always running around, always semi-frazzled - never when it came to _him_ , but definitely when it came to herself; she almost always forgot things. But the thing she _always_ forgot, _without fail_ , was the apartment keys.

 

If she was going out on her own, Peter would just make sure the keys were in her purse. But if they were going to be together, he always carried them himself. It started by accident really; they were out of the building when May realized she’d forgotten the keys, so Peter, being the best nephew ever, offered to go get it for her (he’d also forgotten his phone, but she didn’t need to know that). He was quick; grabbed his phone - put it in his backpack, grabbed the keys, locked the door, then just put them in his pocket. And then… he just kept doing it.

 

(after Thanos, Tony insisted on Peter seeing a therapist to _“talk things out in a safe environment”:_

 

 _“But, Mr. Stark, I feel safe with_ you. _”_

 

_“And I'm really happy you do, but I'm not a professional, and the last thing I need is you being messed up because I couldn’t be there the way you need me to.”_

 

_“But--”_

 

_“No buts; I'm still here for you, but the therapist is a Must.”_

 

And the therapist, after only three sessions, told him he was a sentimentalist, and an ‘emotional hoarder’; that he didn’t have ocd, but he was very much on the spectrum with how ritualistic he was with some things.

 

That’s when he remembered the keys, and how he didn’t really _need_ them to be on him - he could just hand them over to May - but he definitely felt off thinking about not having them in his pocket when he and May were out.

 

Whatever. Maybe Mr. Stark was right. He was never telling _him_ that though.)

 

****

_Keys._

****

 

_Ned_

 

For Ned, it started like this:

 

“You hate coconut milk!”

 

“No, I don’t, Peter, you don’t know _everything_ about me!”

 

“Um yes I do?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

And then:

 

The cashier: “That’ll be $15.95”

 

Ned: “Alright.”

 

Then he rummaged in his pockets, his backpack, and then his pockets again, before grimacing. “Ummm...”

 

Peter: “You forgot your wallet.”

 

Ned: “yes.”

 

Peter just sighed and paid. Ned paid him back, but it kept happening. And it wasn’t that Ned was doing it deliberately - he genuinely forgot his wallet. Well, he mostly misplaced it.

 

It took Peter four instances before he caught on.

 

The first, was in school; Peter wanted a pen, and Ned went fishing around his backpack for one. His backpack was a mess though, so he had to take out a few things to find the pen all the way at the bottom - one of those things was his wallet; he threw everything on the table between them, and when he was done, he hurriedly threw things back in his bag and they ran to their next class. Camera pans to the abandoned wallet still on the table.

 

The second, was at Peter’s apartment - a better situation, since at least it wasn’t stolen -; a spider (and Peter just loved the irony of it) fell on Ned’s head, and even after they both (after a lot of shrieking and yelling “get it off get it off get it _off_ ”) made sure it was firmly _not_ on Ned anymore, Ned was certain it was lurking around; “Peter. Spiders are sneaky, you should know this. You never know where they really are.”

 

“So, you need to empty your bag?”

 

“Of course!”

 

“To make sure it’s not hiding inside?”

 

“Dude it could even be in _your_ bag.”

 

“...”

 

Cut to the two, sitting on the floor of Peter’s living room, backpacks empty - their contents everywhere around them.

It was a mess, but at least that spider wasn’t going to jumpscare them. They felt very proud. They still were never telling anyone about this…. Mr. Stark would have a field day if he knew _spider-man was afraid of spiders_.

But then they’d gotten hungry, and decided to get some take-out, and quickly made work of cramming the bags’ contents back inside, then walked out the door. Camera pans to the abandoned wallet under the couch.

 

The third, was, to Ned’s immense delight, in Mr. Stark’s penthouse; this time, Ned was carrying his wallet in his jacket’s pocket. It wasn’t the first time he’d been there, but it wasn’t the tenth - it was the third, and he was still in awe of the place. And Mr. Stark (because he’s actually really fucking nice, fuck you media people) kept showing him around - some of the places not even _Peter_ had been before, and Peter thought if he didn’t already think Mr. Stark was the best, he would after that.

That visit, Mr. Stark asked them if they wanted to help him in the workshop. And the two obviously were excited - so much so, Ned forgot his jacket on the couch they were sitting on, quickly following Mr. Stark to the elevator.

 

Mr. Stark actually had them help him with a car he was fixing.

 

(Peter didn’t say anything, but he’d seen Mr. Stark finish working on it a week ago, but it looked ruined, and Peter hated making assumptions, but he could figure out what the car’s purpose was - and it made him really sad.)

 

They spent five hours down there, before FRIDAY interrupted. “I believe teenagers, unlike yourself, Boss, need to eat dinner.”

 

“Oh, shit, what time is it?” Mr. Stark looked honestly surprised at the idea of a considerable amount of time having passed.

 

“It’s eight pm, boss.”

 

At that, Mr. Stark turned to them and asked what they’d want to eat. May was working late, so Peter was okay with spending more time in the workshop - but Ned scrambled up; “oh, my god! I have to be home; my mom is gonna kill me.”

 

He seemed to be frazzled, and unsure of what to do, for a minute, before Mr. Stark put a hand on his shoulder to stop his fidgeting, “I’ll have Happy take you home, relax.”

 

“Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Stark!”

 

And with that, they walked to the garage, and Ned left - forgetting the jacket he came in wearing. Camera pans to the truly upset wallet in the forgotten jacket.

 

The fourth, and last time, was less...chill.

 

Peter was in the hospital. Officially, he’d gotten hurt in a car accident - _Unofficially,_ patrolling was a little rough the previous night.

 

Rhodey, May, and Ned were around his hospital bed, being Very Disappointed, and Even More Worried.

 

(Mr. Stark was out of the country, but had definitely made sure to call and yell at him about Being Safe, and _“did I or did I not tell you not to do shit like this, kid? I'm halfway to a heart attack, come on…”_ to which Peter felt his heart clench and had to mutter _“don’t say that”_ but he’d sat through the 30 minute lecture, secretly smiling because he knew it was all out of love.)

 

May was on the phone with her boss to explain missing work that day. Ned was asleep on a hospital chair. And Rhodey decided to take pity on Peter, and _not_ yell at him, because _“you’ve had four lectures today, buddy, you don’t need a fifth one.”_ (the fourth being Ms Potts, who came in in a worried huff, told him to please be careful, hugged him gently and left) and so, Rhodey was teaching Peter poker.

 

When May finally hung up the phone, she sighed and it was like a book that was closed but one of the papers was accidently folded, so the book looked hurt and uncomfortable, and then once you fix the paper and close it again, it falls gently like a tired kid falling in bed after a really long day - she looked exhausted but not scared anymore.

 

She looked at the three in front of her, and smiled at the sight of Ned. “Mr. Rhodes, you can go home, I'm staying the night.”

 

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I have no problems staying here to lecture the kid if you want me to.”

 

(Aunt May took to Rhodey really quick from the get-go; he’d shaken her hand, told her _“your son is a bright, stupidly courageous kid, and you did a wonderful job raising him.”_ and she’d immediately softened up to him.)

 

She smiled (very tiredly) at him, “No, it’s alright. But it’d be great if you can find someone to take Ned home?”

 

“Of course.” he stood up, and to Peter, he tapped at the cards in his hands, “we’ll continue when you feel better, alright?”

 

Peter was feeling tired so he just nodded and put the cards down.

 

May woke Ned up gently - he still sat up with a yelp - and told him to get his things and head out with Rhodey.

 

Ned took a moment to say goodbye to Peter before leaving, still rubbing his sleepy eyes.

 

It wasn’t until an hour after he’d left that May shook her head, seeing the backpack sitting behind the chair. Camera pans to the wallet silently sobbing inside.

 

After that, Peter just started paying Close Attention to Ned’s wallet, and made sure it was with him at all times. It wasn’t a particularly big wallet, so he started carrying it in his pocket whenever Ned put it somewhere and obviously forgot it.

 

(the therapist can say what she wants, but Peter’s just being a good friend.)

 

****

_Keys and a wallet._

****

 

_Michelle_

 

MJ seemed ethereal. Sometimes Peter felt she wasn’t even real - that he was imagining her or something. She seemed to know everything about _everything_ and _everyone_ , and how was that possible? And she was _everywhere_ , sometimes multiple places at once!

 

(which definitely _wasn’t_ possible, Peter’s therapist, Doctor Cooper, reminded him, and he was probably having ‘thoughts of grandeur’ about her, which. Peter didn’t agree with.

 

_“Peter, this is not very healthy, and you should maybe get closer to Michelle instead; see that she’s actually human, and very much prone to human errors.”_

 

So, to prove to her that he definitely saw MJ as a normal person, he told her about the gum.)

 

MJ, with all her otherworldly, awe-inspiring self, chewed gum a lot.

 

At first, Peter didn’t notice, not really, only slightly in a passing ‘oh, she’s chewing gum’ type of way, once or twice - otherwise, he didn’t pay much attention to it ( _“because you won’t look at her for too long, Peter.”_ \- but how could he explain that Michelle was like the sun and he couldn’t look at her for too long or he’d be burned? And oh, wouldn’t his therapist have a fucking field day with that… he could clearly see her frowning, and saying something like ‘fear of rejection is normal, Peter, but you can’t deal with it this way’, and so. It’s better if he just kept this particular thought to himself.)

 

It was an accident, actually, that made him take note of the gum thing; MJ was partnered with a new kid for an in-class chemistry project. Peter and his partner, Miranda, were finished pretty quickly, and submitted the answer sheet, and had sat down to do whatever reading or homework they had. Peter was absently looking around the room, thinking of what to write next in his essay, when his eyes caught something that was so peculiar to him (screw you, Cooper.) and he stared for a few more minutes before his brain rebooted and he realized what he was seeing.

 

MJ was bouncing her leg under the table.

 

Maybe that wasn’t that weird. Not on its own. But it was _MJ_ who was doing it; the girl was always so still - so much so, often times people didn’t even notice she was in the room. She seemed so chill and unaffected by anything. And maybe it was just normal fidgeting - and Peter would’ve concluded that was the case, had he not looked up and seen her face.

 

Probably had it been anyone else looking at her, they wouldn’t have seen anything off, but Peter had studied her (shut _up,_ Cooper, it’s not unhealthy, oh my fucking god.) and knows enough to notice the minute, barely even there frown, the barely noticable tightening around her eyes. The pen in her hand was being spun around fingers, tapped on the table, spun again, tapped on the palm of her hand.

 

Peter was officially worried. But he didn’t really know what to do other than worry silently.

 

( _“Maybe ask her if anything was wrong? Peter, for future reference, it is absolutely okay, and wonderful even, to ask people if they need help sometimes.”_

 

_“You know, Dr. Cooper, if Mr. Stark didn’t force me to be here, I truly wouldn’t be.”_

 

_“That’s nice. There’s nothing about any gum in the story so far, though, Peter.”_

 

 _“Yes, well, give me a second.”_ )

 

But then, the lightbulb moment happened.

 

MJ raised her hand, catching the teacher’s attention. “May I grab another pen from my bag, sir? This one’s out of ink.”

 

The teacher (who went crazy anytime a student reached into their bag without asking) waved her to do so, and she bent down to her bag.

 

But she didn’t pull out a pen, or a pencil, or anything to write with - she pulled out a packet of gum.

 

She popped one in her mouth, chewed for a couple of seconds, then…

 

There’s a cat that Peter always sees behind his apartment building. The cat is always hissing and her hair is always standing up and she doesn’t let anyone close. But Peter felt really, really bad the first time he saw her, so he started bringing her food and water every day, and a cat bed, and a little toy - and maybe it wasn’t smart to get so attached to a cat that wasn’t his, but he just… wanted her to be _okay_ ; she was so obviously scared, and she was probably hurt by people before, and he just needed to proof he wasn’t going to do the same (the symbolism didn’t escape him, _thank you very much, Dr. Cooper_ ). And she was skittish and nervous around him for a really long time - longer than he’d predicted it’d take - but then after two months, she let him close enough to softly, cautiously, pet her. She’s a cat, not a human, but Peter felt his heart breaking as he got closer and closer; she was looking at him so warily ( _“cats can’t look at people_ warily _, Peter…”_ but she _had_ ), but the second his trembling hand touched her back, she _melted_. Peter will never admit to this, but his eyes had teared up. She melted and it was as if all her fear and anxiety melted away.

 

….that’s how MJ looked after a couple of seconds of chewing the gum.

 

( _“Peter… don’t you think you’re reading too much into this?”_

 

 _“no.”_ )

 

Peter looked up to Mr. Stark an awful lot, and he wasn’t going to disappoint him by not following the scientific method.

 

  1. Observation.
  2. Hypothesis.
  3. Experimentation.
  4. Analysis and Conclusion.



 

So far, he had:

 

  1. MJ fidgeted, and did not relax until she was chewing her gum.
  2. Chewing gum helped her anxiety? Her nerves? Helped her relax, whatever the reason she was nervous in the first place was.



 

So, definitely making Mr. Stark proud ( _“...Peter….” “you know, Dr. Cooper, maybe you should be more supportive; I was right in the end.” “that’s so not the point.”_ ), Peter started step three: Experimentation.

 

He was excited as he got home, shouting a cheerful “I'm back, aunt May!” forgetting she was at work - and being too hyper to really register the silence. But then… he got to his room, and realized he didn’t know how to run experiments on this ( _“might be the universe telling you it was a bad idea.”_ _“I swear to god, Dr. Cooper...”_ ) - none that would prove his theory anyway. What was he gonna do, try to catch her fidgeting and then try to calm her down some other way? That’s ridiculous.

 

Except. Maybe he didn’t need to do that….

 

He was _so_ making Mr. Stark proud.

 

He knew what he had to do, all he needed now was the opportunity to actually apply his idea.

 

The chance didn’t come until a week later ( _“...” “don’t.” “I didn’t say anything, Peter.” “yeah well I_ felt _you thinking it.”_ ); there was a mandatory assembly - some lecture about conduct or something, Peter wasn’t sure - and MJ was actually sitting with them all the way in the back. It would be the perfect opportunity.

 

And it proved it was. Ten minutes into the lecture (about respecting authority, apparently) Peter noticed MJ had been on the same page of her book for the past five minutes. His breath caught - _this was his chance!_

 

(he didn’t appreciate Dr. Cooper’s miserable head shake and he was gonna tell her.

 

_“I don’t appreciate the lack of confidence.”_

 

_“Are you sure your dad is Richard Parker?”_

 

_“yeah…?”_

 

 _“Because you are_ literally _Tony Stark’s kid.”_

 

Well that was awesome.

 

Dr. Cooper actually whimpered at his wide smile, _“no, Mr. Parker, that was not a compliment… you’re not even listening to me right now, are you.”_

 

 _“Anyway, so here’s what happened next.”_ )

 

After about ten more minutes, MJ started rolling her neck every ten-fifteen seconds, as if she had a suddenly appearing crick that was bothering her. Five minutes after that, her breathing got deeper and slower. Ten after that, just as the first speaker in the lecture called for the second, she put down her book entirely - and Peter’s chance made itself clear; MJ was reaching for her bag… but she didn’t find anything.

 

( _“Peter.”_

 

_“What.”_

 

_“Why didn’t she find anything?”_

 

_“You’re my therapist - aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”_

 

 _“Yes, but I just question your decisions in life.”_ )

 

Well, okay, maybe Peter had discreetly stolen the packet of gum out of her bag, _but in his defense_ \- ( _“what defense could you_ possibly _have?”_ ) - this was the only way to prove his theory!

 

He felt unbelievably bad when MJ went from calmly - bordering on bored - looking in her bag, to frantically - or as frantic as MJ got - searching it.

 

“Hey, MJ, everything okay?”

 

She was now shaking a little - not very noticeably at all, but Peter _is_ spider-man after all, “I just misplaced something… I’m _sure_ it was in my bag.”

 

“Oh well we all do that once or twice.” he laughed quietly, playing dumb.

 

Ned leaned over from his other side, “What are you two whispering about?”

 

Peter would’ve told him about his theory but it felt private for some reason ( _“perhaps because it_ was _, Peter.” “I'm gonna ask Mr. Stark to get me another therapist.” “oh wouldn’t that be lovely.”_ ) so he didn’t. Instead, he shrugged, “Michelle forgot something.”

 

“I would _never_ forget _this_.”

 

At this point, Peter turned back to her - and took in her pale face, the dread hidden away in the corners of her eyes, the clenched fist holding her bag in her lap - and swallowed his guilt, reached into his backpack, pulled out a packet of gum (not hers, he’s not an idiot) and deliberately offered one to Ned first, then took a piece for himself, before - casually - asking, “hey, MJ, gum?”

 

And. fuck.

 

( _“what happened? Peter?”_

 

_“I just. I didn’t think…”_

 

_“Hey, it’s okay, honey, whatever you did, you thought it was the right thing to do.”_

 

 _“Doesn’t make it_ right _, Dr. Cooper.”_

 

_“...but letting the guilt drown you isn’t going to help anyone.”_

 

_“....”_

 

 _“Now, tell me what happened next, Peter.”_ )

 

MJ… in the chemistry lab, Michelle was like the cat behind his apartment, but sitting in the back of an auditorium, she looked aged all of a sudden. She looked exhausted beyond belief when just thirty minutes prior, she was completely fine - cracking smartass comments about his choice of clothes.

 

She stared at the packet of gum for longer than normal, and Peter just… pretended not to notice - though it was tough doing so. After sixteen seconds (he counted), Michelle cautiously reached a trembling hand and took a piece.

 

And, she wasn’t like the book with the folded page, or the scared cat - she was like… she was like… like Peter when he was on the meds Dr. Cooper first gave him.

 

( _“what do you mean?”_

 

 _“Well, when..when I first started seeing you, you prescribed those meds, and they were supposed to help but… all they did was make me so exhausted I couldn’t function. I_ knew _I was having a panic attack, for example, but I was so numb and exhausted, it didn’t physically show - if that makes sense?”_

 

_“It does. Go on.”_

 

 _“And I was still scared. I still had nightmares. I still had to see Mr. Stark to remind myself_ he’s _alive, and_ I'm _alive. But I just was so exhausted.”_ )

 

MJ was exhausted. She reminded Peter of Pepper that time Tony got shot.

 

Mr. Stark got shot at, but he was completely fine, the doctors said; “it was only a graze.” and Ms Potts was _relieved_ he was okay, but she was still terrified of the fact he got shot. So, while she was definitely happy, she was also not - and maybe the human brain is just limited, because when you have two contradicting feelings like that, you feel worn-out. And that’s how MJ looked.

 

Peter, consumed with guilt and sympathy, even though he didn’t really know what was going on with her, and wanting to make sure she was safe and happy, started carrying gum with him everywhere.

 

( _“I think she knew.”_

 

_“Knew what, Peter?”_

 

 _“That_ I _knew. About her thing.”_

 

_“Why would you say that?”_

 

 _“Because of what happened a couple of weeks later.”_ )

 

Peter kept carrying the gum for two weeks straight before he ever actually gave her one.

 

The thing is he _knew_ she had gum on her that day; he’d personally seen her take a packet from her locker and put it in the front pocket of her bag. And he knew _she_ knew he’d seen her do it. But then an hour later, in trigonometry, she purposefully leaned closer to him, and asked if he had any gum.

 

He was shell shocked, but nodded and gave her the whole packet in his pocket.

 

And he would see it as a coincidence, or a friend asking a friend, but she had a _look_ in her eyes; a look that screamed: _what I'm doing is important. Pay attention._ And he did. And he’s been carrying gum with him since.

 

( _“why does this make you sad, Peter?”_

 

_“Because.”_

 

_“Use your words, honey.”_

 

 _“I don’t know what it’s about. And maybe it’s stupid, right? ‘Cause it’s gum. Maybe it really_ is _just gum. But….”_

 

Sometimes, even with Dr. Cooper, he felt the words shouldn’t come out - should just stay inside.

 

_“You can tell me, Peter.”_

 

 _“Well. I felt--_ feel _like the gum is her bots.”_

 

_“...her what?”_

 

_“When I first came to see you, and the meds didn’t work, I was scared and didn’t know what to do, and… Mr. Stark knew that, so he told me I needed something to ground me - to make sure I didn’t float too up high for him to catch me. Something to keep me close enough to the ground at least just until Mr. Stark could reach me--”_

 

_“That’s good advice; having a grounding object or person.”_

 

_“Yeah. And it took me a bit, but I found what grounded me… what made sure I didn’t d-disintegrate and disappear…”_

 

_“And what was that, Peter?”_

 

_“The bots. In Mr. Stark’s lab. He has these bots - they’re really dumb, but they’re like his kids, or pets or something, and… and I would go to the lab whenever I started floating, and I would play with them, and work on some upgrades, and teach them things.”_

 

_“And?”_

 

 _“And it helped. I felt stupid at first, ‘cause they’re_ bots _, y’know? But after a while, I was just grateful. And now, I still hang out with them, but not as often.”_

 

_“That’s great to hear, Peter.”_

 

_“Yeah. And that’s why I think gum is MJ’s bots. I don’t know if she’s floating, or what, but… they’re her bots.”_

 

 _“I think you might be right Peter.”_ )

 

****

_Keys and wallet and gum._

****

 

_Mr. Stark_

 

Mr. Stark’s item is actually a joke.

 

( _“oh my goodness! You’re telling me Tony Stark’s item that you carry everywhere does_ not _have a really sad story behind it? Hallelujah! Praise the lord!”_

 

 _“... I don’t appreciate the sarcasm.”_ )

 

His item actually came about _after_ the Rogues came back. Clint  Barton (and everyone else, to be honest, but he was the main man behind it) took it upon himself to tease Tony about being “the spider-kid’s dad, Stark? Holy shit, how’s your health, man? This is punishment for all the stupid, self-sacrificing shit you pulled on us all the time, and all the near-heart attacks you put us through. You know that, right? _Punishment._ ”

 

And the others all found the same amusement in the subject.

 

Natasha: “Did you give him the birds and the bees talk, yet?” (Mr. Stark stared at Peter wide-eyed and horrified for a solid minute, before Peter - bright red - basically squeaked, “I've had the talk, Mr. Stark, oh my god.” and only then did he relax.)

 

Bruce: “You know if you wanna scare him off drinking, I know a girl who is… fit for the job. Trust me, the kid will never dare look at alcohol ever again.” (Mr. Stark was intrigued, but didn’t take him up on it - only saying “we need to have a looong conversation about your time away, science bro.”)

 

Thor: “Just know, Stark, that both I and my brother are always present shall you need us to babysit.” (“Dear god, I’d rather die before letting your lunatic brother anywhere near my kid.” and the words _‘my kid’_ only got everyone that more amused at the whole situation.)

 

Steve was actually the cause for the item currently burning (hah!) a semi-permanent hole in his pocket: “Sixteen, huh? When I was sixteen, I had my first cigarette… you might wanna watch out for that one, Tony.”

 

And, the thing is, he was definitely joking - had the twinkle in his all-american eyes and everything, and Tony _definitely_ knew Steve was joking, but.

 

He glared at Peter so hard, Peter was ready to ground _himself_ at this point, even though he hadn’t really done anything.

 

“Peter Parker, I swear to any god in existence, if I _ever_ catch you smoking _anything_ , you will _wish_ the world was ending.”

 

Peter? Was chastised and was about to nod and apologize-- _for nothing_ , when everyone in the room, aside from Tony and Peter, burst into loud laughter.

 

“Holy fucking shit, Stark, I was joking about the dad thing, but fuck, you _are_ his dad!” Clint  barely got the words out between fits of laughter.

 

Steve made a valiant attempt to pull himself together, “I think it’s really sweet, Tony.”

 

Tony just rolled his eyes, “I don’t fucking care what you idiots think, I'm not having my kid getting lung cancer. No way. Not under my beautiful roof.”

 

“Mr. Stark, I don’t think I can even _get_ lung cancer, to be honest…”

 

That just pushed everyone into another laughing fit for some reason.

 

The point is, this event happened and passed, and while people made jokes about it, it was only in passing, and only _occasionally._

 

A month later, though, Peter ( _spider-man_ ) got hurt in a fight, and Tony absolutely _flipped._

 

It wasn’t like Peter was _that_ hurt - in fact, he’d been hurt worse before. But bringing that up just made Mr. Stark turn redder, and lecture _harder_ , and Peter slumped in his bed and accepted his fate.

 

“Oh, I'm _so glad_ you think directly disobeying an order is an okay thing to do, Peter, I'm just _so fucking happy._ ”

 

“I suppose I should be _relieved_ you’re ‘not as hurt as other times’, shouldn’t I? It’s not like I, oh I don’t know, _care about your stupid ass_ or anything, do I?”

 

“No, no, don’t say anything, Peter darling, I think I owe you a _thank you_ right about now, don’t I? Thank you _so so so much_ for only getting hurt a little bit - truly, a gift from god.”

 

And then, finally, after an actual hour of lectures and sarcasm;

 

“I hope you know you are _so_ grounded.”

 

And he was - grounded, that is. Aunt May just accepted, encouraged even, Mr. Stark’s punishment, and Peter… didn’t really feel up to fighting them.

 

( _“you would’ve lost.”_

 

_“I didn’t ask you.”_

 

_“I'm just saying, you would’ve definitely lost that battle.”_

 

 _“I'm aware, thank you. You’re my_ therapist _, can you, I don’t know, therapy me?”_

 

_“That’s not a verb.”_

 

 _“Whatever.”_ )

 

After three weeks, and May and Mr. Stark both not budging - Peter’ll admit, he thought they’d be cool in a week or so… seems he was wrong - Peter started getting annoyed. Clint says he ‘went full angsty teen’, but Peter prefers ‘annoyed grown adult’. So, he did what all grown adults do; got real petty.

 

He bought a lighter, made sure it was visible in his pocket, and pretended he was hiding it from Mr. Stark.

 

Surprisingly though, instead of just getting angry and yelling at him, Mr. Stark seemed unsure how to go about this. He definitely _saw_ the lighter, he just… didn’t bring it up - not directly, anyway.

 

“Hey, spidey, I'm supposed to go to this stupid speech on health dangers, and I _do not_ wanna go alone - come with?”

 

The speech was about the dangers of smoking.

 

Tony Stark was _not subtle._

 

2.

Peter walked into the workshop to find Tony covered in grease, and wearing a--- oh Peter wanted to laugh _so bad_.

 

“Kid. Didn’t know you were coming today?”

 

He shrugged, “Had a lot of homework, and thought I’d do it here since I work best in the workshop or lab.”

 

Peter _saw_ Tony remember the shirt he was wearing and then, like the little shit he is, turn to face Peter fully - as if he hadn’t read what was clearly written there.

 

Peter just pretended not to notice. He pulled a chair to the emptiest spot at the table he could find, and pulled out his homework, all the while rambling about school and random stuff - _just to annoy Tony freakin’-unsubtle Stark._

 

By the time all his work was laid out in front of him, and Peter stopped talking to ‘focus on his homework’, Tony was clearly frustrated.

 

Suits him! Wearing that stupid shirt.

 

The huge crossed out picture of a lit cigarette, with the words _‘there are cooler ways to die’_ underneath.

 

What annoyed him most is how _Tony_ the words were. So he settled for annoying Mr. Stark. To even it out.

 

( _“You are literally…. Meant to be in each other’s liv-- don’t. No. Peter, that was_ not _a compl--”_

 

_“I totally agree; Mr. Stark is one of the best things to happen to me!”_

 

 _“Sweet Jesus.”_ )

 

3.

Mr. Stark did _a lot_ more, but one of Clint’s favorite Parenting Attempts was one of the least subtle. And that’s saying a lot, considering the other very unsubtle things he’s done.

 

It was very simple; Peter was having breakfast with Steve, Clint, Sam, and Bucky, when Mr. Stark walked in.

 

The engineer paused, took in the room, and then - _right in front of Peter’s eyes, that little liar!_ \- transformed into another persona. He smiled and asked about the freakin’ weather. Actually sat down at the table, and took a plate of food, instead of his usual ‘I run on coffee and prayers’ routine. And kept making _small talk_ . Bucky and Sam just got up and left. They left their plates half full and just _walked away_.

 

At that, Tony glanced at Peter, and then _very_ deliberately, turned to Steve, and said the worst words ever - Peter’s sure Clint asks FRIDAY to play him the recording whenever he’s feeling down.

 

( _“...surely you’re exaggerating…”_

 

 _“NO, Dr. Cooper. Like, they weren’t that bad, but the way he said them, and how so very unsubtle he was being… it was just_ not good _.”_ )

 

It went like this: “So Steve, remember that hilarious thing you said a couple of months ago?”

 

Steve looked amused and apprehensive, “No…?”

 

“Yes, you do! About kids smoking! It was _so hilarious_ ! I can’t stop thinking about how _funny_ it was!”

 

( _“Dr. Cooper. He then spent ten seconds fake laughing.”_

 

 _“....go on…”_ )

 

He stopped laughing abruptly and turned to Peter, “That was funny, wasn’t it, Petey? As if any sane kid would be smoking. Ha!”

 

( _“Dear god, what did you say?”_

 

 _“Well I was_ considering _putting him out of his misery, but Clint was having so much fun and I--- oh I was having too much fun, too!”_ )

 

“I don’t know, Mr. Stark.” and then Peter put his fork down, “I think I'm done for now.”

 

Tony Stark looked….ready to take up Star-lord on his offer to _‘traverse through space with him’_ just to get away from there.

 

As he walked away, Peter made sure the pocket with the lighter was facing Tony. “I think I’ll go stay with May tonight.”

 

( _“You. Are. cruel. Peter Parker.”_

 

 _“Ugh I_ know _, but look. I stopped. Sorta. I think he knows it’s a joke at this point.”_

 

 _“You_ think _he knows, or you’re_ sure _? Because those are two different things, Peter.”_

 

_“...I only bring it out when I’m particularly pissed at him!”_

 

_“Yeah. you’re definitely a grown adult.”_

 

 _“....”_ )

 

The lighter might not have a permanent place in his pocket, but it’s a frequent visitor.

 

****

_Keys and wallet and gum and lighter._

****

 

_Happy_

 

Happy’s item was less frequent, but recurrent enough to be mentioned. He was the hardest to account for; he wasn’t as open with Peter, neither was he around as much as the others, though Peter tried to get to know him whenever he was.

 

Happy wore glasses. Not just sunglasses - though he wore those often -, he also wore regular prescription glasses. No one really knew, and Peter felt special being one of the few who did.

 

So, Happy carried three glasses with him at all times; normal sunglasses, prescription sunglasses, and prescription glasses. What he _didn’t_ carry with him a lot - what he forgot a lot - was the glasses’ cleaning cloth.

 

Peter was walking out of school and, heading towards Happy’s car, saw the man hadn’t noticed him yet. Happy had his sunglasses in hand, awkwardly trying to clean the lens with his shirt - unsuccessfully it seemed.

 

Two days later, Peter went to Pepper’s office to deliver some papers Mr. Stark had asked him to.

 

( _“But, Mr. Stark, why not go yourself?”_ Peter had asked, confused.

 

_“Because she’s been hounding me to finish this project for actual months, and I can’t see her before it’s done. Or she’ll kill me. Do you want me to die, kid?”_

 

_“...no.”_

 

 _“Then take her the papers, please.”_ )

 

Outside Pepper’s office, Peter found Happy sitting at a couch in the waiting room. He was about to say hello when Pepper opened the door and saw him.

 

“Oh, Peter! Come on in.” she smiled a lot, and Peter always felt happy around her. “Happy, could you please head to the lobby? They say there’s a security breach of some sort.”

 

Happy got up, put on the sunglasses he was cleaning with a tissue, and left. Peter made note of it, before walking into Ms Potts’ office.

 

“So what did Tony do now?”

 

“Nothing, Ms Potts! He just wanted me to give you these papers.”

 

She took one look at the papers in hand and rolled her eyes. “That man… anyway, have you had lunch yet, Pete?”

 

The last time before Peter decided on Happy’s item was a month after that.

 

May was out of town for a work conference, so Peter was sleeping at Mr. Stark’s until she was back.

 

He woke up for school on day two, rubbed his tired eyes, and sat up in bed trying to convince his body to wake up.

 

“Mr. Parker, boss wants to inform you there’s breakfast in the kitchen. And he will not be amused if you’re late for school.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Peter finally got up. “Got it, FRIDAY…”

 

He was expecting Mr. Stark to be in the kitchen, or just an empty kitchen, maybe even Ms Potts to be there, but he wasn’t expecting Happy Hogan when he walked in.

 

He stood at the entrance and watched for a second; Happy had the newspaper on the table in front of him - which he was probably reading a moment ago, but not currently. Instead, he had on a pair of prescription glasses (or reading glasses - Peter wasn’t sure of the difference) in hand, and he was grumbling as he used a kitchen cloth to clean the lenses.

 

It was then the idea formed in Peter’s mind.

 

It was clear Happy had the cleaning cloth with him most of the time, since Peter only ever saw him clean his glasses with unconventional methods three times in over a month, but he still forgot it _some_ of the time.

 

So, that day, Peter bought a nice lens cleaning cloth, folded it small, and stuffed in his pocket.

 

And a week later, when Happy and Peter were in the car waiting for Mr. Stark to come out, Happy huffed and took off his glasses, holding them delicately in one hand while the other was rummaging in his suit pocket.

 

“Here, Happy.”

 

Happy stared suspiciously at the offending cloth in Peter’s hand. “You don’t wear glasses, kid.”

 

“Um, no…?”

 

Happy’s raised eyebrow made Peter nervous.

 

“So, why do you have this with you?”

 

Peter just shrugged, and didn’t have to answer, because Mr. Stark opened the car door at that moment, loudly complaining. “I swear, people think I just have all this free time. Why didn’t _you_ tell me I apparently had so much, Happy, huh?”

 

Happy took the cloth from Peter’s hand, and rolled his eyes at his boss/friend. “Oh I don’t know, Mr. Stark, I'm just as surprised as you are.”

 

Peter settled back in his seat, put on his seatbelt at Mr. Stark’s pointed look, and smiled; he’d found Happy’s item.

 

****

_Keys and wallet and gum and lighter and lens cleaning cloth._

****

 

_Ms Potts & Rhodey _

 

Ms Potts and Rhodey’s items are actually one and the same. Peter tried really hard to find them individual items, but this was the thing they both needed from him, so he had no choice.

 

( _“Peter, honey, no. They don’t_ need _this from you, and you_ always _have a choice.”_

 

_“Come on, Doc, you know what I meant.”_

 

_“I do… but I also know you place significance on things that might not always be as significant as you make them out to be.”_

 

_“Are you saying they don’t appreciate what I'm doing?”_

 

_“No! Of course I'm not saying that. What---”_

 

 _“Then_ what _?”_

 

 _“What I'm_ saying _, Peter, is that while they’re very appreciative, I'm sure, they’d love you just the same if you weren’t doing this… you know that, don’t you?”_

 

_“You don’t have to sound so sad, Doc.”_

 

 _“I just want to make sure you know that these people are your family, and they love you very much. Mr. Stark sent you to me because he wanted to be_ absolutely certain _you were okay, and safe and getting any help you might need.”_

 

_“Yeah, well.”_

 

_“Peter--”_

 

_“Can I finish the story?”_

 

 _“....sure.”_ )

 

What people probably wouldn’t have guessed was that Peter, Rhodey, and Pepper hung out a lot.

 

People often think Mr. Stark is Peter’s favorite - and he _is_ , there’s no doubting that. But Pepper and Rhodey took Peter out to lunch one day, and ever since then, the three have regular lunches. They have inside jokes, secrets, they gossip about everyone - they’re generally three teenagers when together ( _“you_ are _a teenager, Peter.” “for god’s sake, Dr. Cooper, let me live. Holy shit.”_ ) and so, their lunches aren’t public knowledge.

 

In the process of two months of weekly lunches, the three found they loved the same obscure candy.

 

It happened on their eighth lunch. They ate at a bistro a few blocks away from SI, complained about Tony; Pepper _knew_ he was avoiding her to escape a lecture, Rhodey’s armor had needed a minor fix, but Tony added in a whole bunch of unnecessary upgrades that “while I love that he cares so much, he has a _lot_ of work and the last thing I wanted was to add to it”, and Peter was complaining that “he showed up, full Iron Man, during my patrol last night - which was _not needed_ , I can do it on my own”. After a short five minutes though, they were all sporting fond smiles and talking about how lucky they were he was in their lives.

 

Afterwards, the three went to drop Pepper off at her office before the other two went their own way. There, she dug through a drawer and pulled out a bag of hard coffee-flavored candy.

 

Peter and Rhodey gasped in unison.

 

Pepper looked confused. “You two okay?” she had the candy warily extended towards them in offering.

 

“Yeah, Ms Potts! I just _love_ this candy _so much_ but no one else I know does.”

 

“Yeah, Pep, can’t believe you even know about it - I think there’s only one shop that sells it in all of New York.”

 

Peter, while happily sucking on coffee candy, made up his mind to always have the rich sweets with him.

 

And the pouting and looks of betrayal others (especially Mr. Stark) got when Peter refused to give anyone but Pepper and Rhodey the candy...they were amusing.

 

****

_Keys and wallet and gum and lighter and lens cleaning cloth and coffee flavored candy._

****

 

Peter's pockets might be heavier than they'd ever been, and maybe he feels anxious about losing some of the items sometimes, and he needs to take a second longer when he changes into his spider-man suit - just to put the items in his backpack - but at least his people are happy. He’d take on the world’s worst discomfort to make his people happy.

 

**Author's Note:**

> so... sorta projected the mj stuff lmao as ridiculous as it might sound, i had to use gum as a grounding thing when i was in middle/high school (lowkey still use it now but don't tell anyone pls im pretending to be sorta well-adjusted)
> 
> im also contemplating posting the rest of the 13 fics - they'd all be about peter, so i might start a series or a collection or something??? or just add chapters maybe? idk we'll see


End file.
